National Assembly   |19 October 2023

Penalties for MRP non-compliance rise

The National Assembly on Tuesday approved an amendment to the Control of Supplies and Services (Maximum Retail Price on Articles Purchased from Seychelles Trading Company Limited) (Amendment) Order, 2023, to increase the maximum fine for non-compliance to R25,000.

The amendment was presented by the Minister for Finance, National Planning & Trade, Naadir Hassan, who stated the government felt the penalties should be updated and should reflect the offences.

Tuesday’s amendment followed the approval by cabinet in July this year.

When outlining the amendment, Minister Hassan said the increase will give the two main entities, the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) and the Seychelles Licensing Authority (SLA), more room/space to apply those penalties linked to the MRP items, in effect since October 2022.

Presently there are 15 commodities falling under the category, with garlic being added recently.

MRP was introduced to deter merchants from overpricing certain specific commodities imported by the Seychelles Trading Company.

According to Minister Hassan, since the introduction of MRP a year ago, FTC and SLA have inspected 308 retail shops, where 106 violations were recorded and a sum of R67,200 was applied as penalties.

Twenty-one (21) members from the LDS party present voted in favour on the amendment, while none voted against and 9 from the opposition abstained.

Patsy Canaya